>>“Since Android phones run on the same operating system, the major risk facing Motorola and the other licensees is the Android platform could commoditize, sending >>margins into value-destroying territories.”

Folks, my apologies for coming late to the following: Goldman Sachs’s Simona Jankowski today reiterated a Buy rating on shares of Motorola Mobility (MMI), and a $34 price target, writing that the stock is undervalued based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis, and that upside in smartphone sales could boost the bottom line.

On the valuation side, the handset business may be trading at only one or two times projected earnings per share, because the current stock price is almost entirely reflective of the other assets: $8 per share in deferred tax assets, $11 per share in cash, and the $3 to $4 per share that the set-top box business may be worth. (Regarding the deferred tax asset, $2.4 billion, she observes it, “is currently largely offset by a $2.3 billion valuation allowance due to MMI’s recent lack of profitability, thus it does not fully appear on the balance sheet.”)

Of course, the handset business has been losing money, and the question is whether it will finally turn profitable this year.

Jankowski thinks it will, and she assigns a 7 times P/E multiple to the 2012 estimated EPS of $1.61 cents per share for that unit. That would produce a stock value of $11.29 per share just for handsets.

Moreover, every 1 million extra smartphones Moto sells will produce another $50 million in net income, or 17 cents per diluted share on an annual basis, she estimates. She’s currently modeling the company selling 20.4 million units of smartphones this year, out of a total of 42.5 million units, which includes tablet computers (“Xoom“) and feature phones.

Folks, lost in the shuffle earlier today was a research note from Gabelli & Co.’s Hendi Susanto offering a rare favorable view of Motorola Mobility (MMI), which has been taking quite a few knocks of late, including this morning’s downgrade to Underperform by Credit Suisse.

Susanto argues that the turnaround effort, based on riding the wave of Google’s (GOOG) “Android” software, is working.

“We continue to see progress on MMI’s turn-around which is centered on its partnership with Google,” writes Susanto. “This partnership has enabled the company to accelerate product development and establish a stronger product portfolio with advanced technical specifications such as LTE.”

Susanto who rates the stock Buy, has a $31 price target on the stock, using a 7 times multiple of enterprise value to Ebitda for both the mobile devices and the home networking business.

Susento has a fairly optimistic picture of Motorola’s return to profit in its handset business: from a loss of $76 million in Ebitda last year, the company may bounce back to $310 million in positive Ebitda this year, and $475 million next year. Credit Suisse’s Kulbinder Garcha this morning had forecast just $80 million this year and $400 million next year.

That’s based on a higher estimate of how many smartphones the company will ship this year: 21 million units, versus Garcha’s roughly 19.4 million-unit estimate. The company’s goal of as many as 23 million units, when including its tablet computer projections, is realistic, in Susanto’s view.

Moto may see its smartphone market share rise from 4.5% last year to 4.7% this year, 4.8% next year, and 5% by 2013, Susanto thinks.

Garcha sees $1.10 in non-GAAP EPS this year, well above the average 78 cents estimate, based on revenue of $14.03 billion, ahead of the average $13.4 billion estimate.

Technology sector: Buy Motorola Mobility Holdings (MMI). PCM added $40 million to its $540 million position from the previous quarter, including adding a new $21 million position in SAIC Inc. (SAI), a provider of scientific engineering system integration and technical services, primarily to U.S. government entities. a new $23 million position in Motorola Mobility Holdings (MMI), a manufacturer of wireless handsets, set-top boxes and video distribution systems for home, network and telecom markets. MMI is an attractive buy as it trades at a forward 15 price-to-earnings (P/E) based on fiscal year 2012 earnings, and it is projected to grow revenue and margins strongly in the near term. Furthermore, analyst targets for MMI are in the mid-$30s to $40 range. BMC trades at a forward 16 P/E, which is mid-range based on its historic P/E range. It has been up strongly 60% in the last year while revenues and earnings are up only in the teens.

Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI): traded higher by 20.08% or $4.50/share to $26.91 In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $20.77 and as high as $36.54. On average, 3344260 shares of MMI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8414100. The shares are currently trading above the 200-day moving average which indicates that the shares have been subject to upward momentum. The 200 DMA is above the 50 DMA which indicates that the stock has likely taken a dip in the shorter term. The stock may eventually drop to test the 200-day moving average where buyers may be lurking near the $26.2524 area.